Adam sat opposite the Great Elder, hearing the sounds of the beads g together as she prayed, ting the prayer a huimes. She opened her eyes and took in he sight of the half elf, with a gaze that had suggested to Adam she had tried to pray him away. She reached down to the tea Adam had poured her as she began her prayers, and after three minutes of prayer, it had cooled to the perfect temperature.

  Adam remained silent. He had little iion with Elder Peace, but all he knew was that she was firmly in the camp of wanting to kill him to protect the Iyr. At the very least, she had been. He wasn’t quite so sure any more, sidering how she had so many opportunities, a had made sure to protect him. Then again, Adam knew just how unhihe Iyr was when it came to the deaths of their children, and the lengths they were willing to go.

  They were, perhaps, the oy willing to go further than him in that regard.

  Ohe pair fiheir tea, Elder Peace closed her eyes, rubbing the white bead, pting the questions she had for the half elf. She had so many she wished to ask, some which would betray the Chief’s trust, and some which were insequential to the matter at hand, but would have satisfied her curiosity.

  However, right now, was there any more important than that question?

  “ you do it?” Elder Peace asked.

  Adam furrowed his brows for a moment, before ing to the realisation of what she was asking. The half elf swallowed, his eyes trailing away, before he looked through the stoo aime. He could feel it again, the chill, or the heat, he wasn’t quite sure. The cold, greyed bodies resting upon the sbs of obsidian.

  When their eyes met again, Elder Peace thought of how many Adams she khe Adam the world had e to know was the fool who was strohan he should have been. It artly an act, but he was also just that much of a fool sometimes. Then there was the Adam who had the audacity to go against the likes of Emperor Shama, a figure whose singur presence would ge the course of the histories of the Lower Realm, like that of Lord Asa in Floria, who, even in his limited involvement within the war, had guarahe victory of King Merryweather.

  Then there was the Adam who was being hunted by one of the Thirteen Guardian Stars, Starsword, and protected by ahe weakest of all, ahe most mysterious, Crowseer. His involvement with Crowseer was enough to sider his death, but this was an Adam she koo, one who defied the death that should e to him.

  However, had she ever seen this Adam before her?

  The Adam, who held a murderous gre in his eyes?

  The Adam whose eyes then filled with regret?

  “Yes,” Adam replied, his voice low, trembling, a siear running down his cheek. “I have a favour to ask, though.”

  “What is it?” Elder Peace asked, for this was the Adam she koo, the kind that would ask for something ridiculous. She did not know of an Adam who would ask for the right thing at this time, for with just a word, the Iyr could deal with this matter ly, as was their right.

  “Will you tell Vonda I had no choice?”

  Elder Peace held no doubt that this Adam, beyond any other Adam, was the truest Adam of all. Adam, the fool of a father, and the fool of a husband.

  Elder Peace approached the Chief, who stared out towards the vilge from the walls. “I see why you like him so much.”

  “What did he say?” Iromin replied.

  “He wished for me to tell his wife he had no choi the matter.”

  “That does not surprise me.”

  “Is that why you are so soft on the boy?” Elder Peace asked, though the accusation hung heavy within the air.

  Iromin smiled in response, causing Elder Peace to narrow her eyes. His silence spoke a thousand words, but they were the kind of words she had trouble parsing through. Even after all these years, Iromin was difficult to uand, and when it came to Adam, it was even more difficult to uand the Chief. Still, she had made her displeasure known, and he would o sider it.

  “I thought you were joking when you told me he was an idiot,” Tanagek admitted, staring out at the half elf, who was going around ag a fool for the business. Adam pined about losing to Elsie in dragonchess, before praising the girl for being a genius, disarming the children.

  “It is mostly untrue.”

  “Uanagek doubted, si seemed mostly true. “What is he thinking? He should allow granduo deal with him, or his…”

  Jurot watched as Tanagek finally caught on to it. It erhaps the most surprising thing of all.

  “I thought you said he refused to call the Mad Dog his grandfather?”

  “He did.”

  Taurned his head to take in the sight of his cousin, who remained pletely focused on his brother. “He is going to lose?”

  “No,” Jurot replied almost instantly, with almost total belief in his words, but Tanagek had probably heard the way Jurot had to fight against his throat to e out with the word.

  Tanagek’s eyes fell back to Adam, trying to uand the situation, but it was all so plicated. Jurot had informed him of the political mess Adam caused, as well as the various retionships he had with the Iyr. The suspicious amount of favour Adam had shown the Iyr made no seo him, especially since he had refused the Iyr’s help iroying the Order which had now e to bother them.

  ‘I will ask him if he is willing to tell you his tale soon,’ Jurot had promised. ‘It is not my story to tell.’

  ‘Just what kind of secrets do you hold?’ Tahought, watg as his father approached the half elf.

  “Adam,” Tonagek called, limping lightly towards the half elf.

  “How you do this to me, uncle?” Adam asked.

  “What?”

  “You want to steal my daughter away from me by pying dragonchess?” Adam huffed at the Iyrman. “Fine, I’ll allow it, but only if I get to spoil Danagek and Dagek.”

  “I am not here to steal them away.”

  “I’m still going to spoil them.”

  “I will allow it if you accept my offer.”

  “What offer?”

  “You should use Quiet Rain for the duel,” Tonagek said.

  Adam sat up straighter, narrowing his eyes slightly. “You wao use… Quiet Rain?”

  “It is a good on,” Tonagek said. “You will strike rapidly, and since you are a Gek, within your hands it will be sidered Legendary Enhanced.”

  “Aren’t I a Rot?” Adam asked.

  “If your children call me baba, then you are a Gek,” Toated, as though it were truly that simple.

  The fusion filled the air, but Tonagek was an Iyrman, and just like Adam, Iyrmen did not lie.

  Adam wasn’t sure how that worked, nor if he was willing to find out something like that. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m a member of the Rot family. They’ll tease me too much if I use Quiet Rain.”

  Toood there for a long moment. He had already expected Adam to refuse, and though he had other ways to ask, he had decided upon this way. Other ways would have pced too much pressure, and more importantly, it would have displeased his sister. Even the offer upon his lips would displease his sister if he had the gall to ask, but the Iyrman bowed his head.

  If Adam was going to make a joke about it, it meant he had a way to win. That’s what Tohought, even though he khe other reason, but he refused to eain it. Even as he stepped away, he thought to tell Adam to make sure he remembers his children, but wouldn’t that mean he didn’t believe in his nephew? Nht now, Adam needed his unwavering belief, and the rest, the half elf could do himself.

  ‘Is Jaygak a genius?’ Duhought, having watched the iion with bated breath, seeing the mistakes Tonagek had made, and recalling Jaygak’s words. He still wasn’t sure just how serious Adam was about using an axe, since his retionship with the Rot family was unofficial, uhe retionship between his children and the Iyr, which was, through the spilling of blood, quite official.

  ‘I guess I o go talk to him now,’ Adam thought while brushing his daughter’s hair. “Should I go call baba to e py with you?”

  “Okay…”

  “Say yes, you silly girl,” Adam replied, ping her nose gently.

  “Yes, daddy.”

  “Good girl,” Adam held her head and rubbing her cheeks gently with his thumbs, his eyes filling with the light of joy, before he pulled away.

  He eventually approached the heavily armoured figure who sat at the gate, the figure adorned in full pte, marked with the symbol of the United Kindom. Adam sat beside him, holding out a small bread bun, which the figure could not refuse, even if he didn’t want to eat.

  “You okay?” Adam asked.

  “I am fine,” Jonn replied.

  Adam slowly nodded his head, letting the silengulf them for a short while. “Are you going to be okay with me killing him?”

  Jonn remained silent for a while longer. He had seen so many familiar faces in the crowd, those who had worn the dark green cloaks, but they had all been different to those they had met in the fort st year, and different to the one he had cshed bdes with. “Yes.”

  “Alright,” Adam said, hoisting himself up, patting Jonn on his shoulder, before making his way to prepare his children for sleep.

  Unlike most others within the fort, Jonn didn’t doubt Adam’s words, even if the fool of a father barely believed in how casual he spoke the words. Adam, who, but six years ago, had been barely a man, a man who could have died to a wolf. Now he was going up against the Grand ander, one of the few Paragons in Aldnd?

  Within the vilge, a few Iyrmen had decided to watch over the Orders. The Bear Mother had also o stay within the vilge, otherwise it would have been awkward for her Order’s retionship with the new Order that had formed. The three who had been forced away from what was now Floria. They were teically on the same side, and sihe Order had trouble with the Iyr, she couldn’t stay within the business any longer.

  “Is yrandnephew really going to fight the Grand ander?”

  “No,” Malfev replied.

  “Then who will do it?”

  “He will kill the Grand ander.”

  “Who?”

  “My grandnephew.”

  Anne furrowed her brows, taking a moment to uand what the Iyrma. It had taken a moment sihough she had seen Adam create a miracle i year, him defeating the Grand ander was an eveer miracle.

  “A Viander and his apprentice are different to the Grand ander,” Malfev agreed, uanding the woman’s thoughts. “Watch carefully.”

  ‘Have I grown too old?’ Ahought, sihin her heart, she doubted the words of the Iyrman, but the doubts were not quite as heavy as she expected.

  Elder Peace finally made her way into the vilge, having discussed the duel’s ditions with her aides and the Chief.

  “Noon?” James asked.

  “We must sider the children withiime of the duel,” Elder Peace said, taining all her killing i by rubbing the white bead, since all but two of the children could have made dawn, but of all the children who o watch the duel, it was those two in particur who o watch the duel.

  “t the terms,” James replied.

  “Grand ander,” a Viander called, his eyes glued to the Great Elder as she left. “Is it truly a good idea to accept all those ditions?”

  “I will sy him, the Iyr will cim his body, and ates will no longer remain closed,” James replied, still sour they had the audacity to even ask in the first pce. “Even the Iyr uood how ridiculous their demands were.”

  “If were to lose, they will cim your body, and we will have to remain as hostages?” another Viaeased, his cloak dark gold, his cheeky grin pearly white.

  “Do they have the ce to cim my body?” James joked, eaining the notion he could die. “The Iyr uands it had made a mistake. They wao make it a big deal sihey keep losing their wars, but they uand, and now that we have brought so many great warriors, each eager to draw their bdes, they uand they are in trouble. It is why they brought out the likes of Duteous Dogek, but who else could they bring? A crippled Mad Dog, whose fangs are chipped?”

  He didn’t even think of the Iyr’s request to hold them as hostages.

  It was te in the evening when the children had been taken to bed, Adam’s triplets each cuddling atop him, for even though the half elf was going to fight to the death tomorrow, he couldn’t refuse his children’s affe. He had seen it in Konarot’s eyes, for the girl was too smart, too wise, and if he had refused, she would have thought something terrible was going to happen.

  ‘If you lose, you will die, but more importantly, we will have to allow them to walk freely across the nd,’ Chief Iromin had informed the half elf earlier. ‘Will you allow them to step out so soon?’

  Adam, it's all up to you now.